Olympus Pen E-P5 – Review

After the much-hyped sensor’s flagship Olympus OM-D E-M5 was drafted into the pen and the pen Mini-Lite, the pen fan base eagerly waiting for this update just for the top model E-P3. But after almost two years, Olympus has finally brought the anticipated sequel, which is called by Japanese count Olympus Pen E-P5.

But not only the great image converter, but also the 5-axis image stabilization, a WiFi module and other interesting features, in the new camera. Much attention to the new, there was also because of the quality processed metal casing in elegant retro design. What’s in it and how it translates into practice and measurement laboratory, we have studied in this test.

Olympus Pen E-P5 – Ergonomics and Processing

The Olympus Pen E-P5 is quite an attraction. The owner will have to get used to being asked by many people surprised if this was an analog camera. The look reminds me strangely of a film camera from the 60s. Compared with the mini-Pen and Pen-Lite it acts relatively large, as opposed to a reflecting mirror, but it can also be also be described as compact. The compromise between small and yet not too fiddly with the Olympus Pen E-P5 so well done.

With a weight of 535 grams, including the kit lens, it is also comfortable enough in your hand and can be held up well thanks to the flat handle hump. The small rubber application for the thumb on the back also ensures a secure fit.

The processing of the camera body with its smooth upper and lower shells made of high-quality metal, and plastic reinforcement is excellent and convince the switch and setting wheel. The camera gives a good feel in the hand, which is partly due to the dignified processing.

Only the kit lens does not quite fit into the picture because: Up on the lenses, it is completely made of plastic and very light. The mechanical quality is fortunately still above the level of the many a competing products.

After pressing a lock button can be moved to a park about five inches short position, which of course is not enough to make the camera disappear in your pocket. Ready to shoot, the look is both the long and the short as well as a longer focal length end to two centimeters.

The operation of the Olympus Pen E-P5 is clearly oriented towards semi-professional cameras. With the mode dial set to the basic programs, aperture, speed, exposure compensation and program shift with the front or rear control dial.

Both are very convenient to use with the index finger and thumb and snap supple. Exposure compensation and aperture choice to go slightly out of hand. In addition, a small lever on the video trigger extends the function of the setting for ISO sensitivity and white balance – a great idea.

If a little criticism can be voiced, it is because of a touch to smooth wheel. Especially in the accidental exposure settings are annoying. The size of the six buttons on the back is delicate to call and certainly getting used for large hands. All switches perform very convincing their service and make a long-lasting impression.

The same applies to the lid of the combined battery-chamber/memory card at the bottom and the cover for the digital connections: both are connected by hinges to the housing proper.

Splash and dust proof they are not the remains of the OM-D series reserved. That the tripod socket must only an inch from the optimal position are removed, is certainly jam-packed with the technology inside the Olympus Pen E-P5 owed. It is not that bad, but unfortunately a near miss is not optimal. After all, battery and memory card remain accessible on the tripod.

Facilities at the Olympus Pen E-P5 can really miss little. This might include a viewfinder, which can be retrofitted as an accessory but of course. Or indeed, a real panorama function, because the pen supports the photographer’s capture with an auxiliary frame mounted together you have the images but the fact using the supplied software on your PC.

The WiFi feature is also not quite fully implemented. While the pen can be controlled remotely via a smartphone or tablet computer, but only in full automatic mode.

Interventions in the camera settings are possible only insofar as it allows the i-Auto function. After all the work Focus and Shoot by finger touch on the associated display, which some already allow for new applications.

Solved comfortable is to enter the connection parameters. After a tap on the Wi-Fi icon, a QR code on the screen, which only need to scan with the Olympus App SSID and password, and you will be transferred.

But now the things that cope with the Olympus Pen E-P5 with flying colors: The well-known from the OM-D five-axis stabilizer does its job great. On request, he recognizes pans and stabilized only the necessary axes, but can also be manually configured.

If you also want the viewfinder, the display images are respectively stabilized, the mechanism starts when the shutter or the handle to operate the focus ring. Who wants to save electricity, waived this comfort and activates the stabilizer only during recording.

Since wobbles are compensated by sensor movements, can be stabilized absolutely every lens. This even works with adapted ” old glass ” because the focal length can also be entered manually. That the sensor in its work makes a slight audible hiss is noticeable only in the immediate vicinity.

For video recording he stability is inaudible, but still does a great job. One also not be underestimated feature is the water level, indicating inclinations in horizontal and vertical axis sensitive.

Rapidly is the burst speed of the Olympus Pen E-P5. With nearly nine frames per second, it runs most SLR racing cars loose it and that for about 23 pictures. In continuous operation, it still creates three images per second, and all at full resolution! At this speed, the AF module is of course not afterwards.

Either has to be adjusted manually or switched to a lower speed down. Otherwise, the auto focus is very fast, not even 0.3 seconds the camera through the kit lens to focus and trigger needed. But the focus module provides more useful functions still holds. Not only, that, the face recognition works quite reliably, also can be selected whether the left, the right or the camera closest eye to serve as a focal point.

Many switching from Olympus SLR system certainly interested in how to cope their Four Thirds lenses with the pen. We have the 7-14 mm, 12-60 mm and 50-200 mm SWD tried with the adapter MMF-1. In short, all lenses provide sharp, just not as fast.

This can best be still the wide-angle and standard zoom, but both pumps around the right distance, but finally jump to the correct position. The telephoto zoom apparently is the optimization of the phase contrast in the way.

Reluctant to take the lens the correct focus, and particularly in the vicinity of the focusing sometimes goes wrong. Nevertheless, the picture is great fun with all three lenses, because the manual focus will be comfortable highlighted by a viewfinder for Olympus and the new focus peaking, in which sharp edges supported.

The optical performance of these lenses is quite bulky and irritating beyond doubt the potential of Olympus Pen E-P5 better than it can the kit zoom. Who is clearly the limitation and the striking difference in size between the camera body and lens, will be thrilled.

In video mode, the focus tracking with FT lenses is impossible because the value is retained once found. With the kit zoom 14-42 mm of the pen succeeds but not quite convincing. A little too slow and enforced in the vicinity sometimes only half-press the shutter button it takes the focus.

After all, hardly any noise on the soundtrack of the camera to find and the image quality is excellent. It is stored with the usual full-HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels at 30 frames per second either as compressed H.264 MOV or at a reduced resolution in AVI Motion JPEG.

The Olympus Pen E-P5 dominated bracketing for flash, white balance, ISO sensitivity, and HDR images. Brackets can be configured in a very wide range of up to seven shots with 0.7 aperture difference. HDR images also cover a wide range of five shots and up to two stops. The e-P5 combines these but not automatically.

A corresponding software must be tried on the PC. For ” creative ” gamblers, there are plenty of creative filters, image styles and the ” story ” can be combined in different layouts together with the images. Some of it is also retrospectively applicable, and in particular, raw files. It is interesting to overlay that merges up to three photos together raw data. The weighting of the individual images can be influenced.

Also on interval shooting, the Olympus Pen E-P5 understands. Although the number of shots is limited to 99, but it can both delay the start as well as for the interval, a very wide range of up to 25 hours to be determined. If desired, the camera image is calculated from the addition of a video series.

The Function Live bulb, when you can watch the photo in the development is already known of the smaller pens and also available. A new addition is the live histogram, with which one can judge the exposure process better.

Olympus Pen E-P5 – Image Quality

In our test lab, the Pen E-P5 had to put their worth with the kit lens M. Zuiko Digital 14-42 mm II R 3.5-5.6. The detailing measurement protocols can be loaded as usual for a small fee down on the link at the end of this test.

To put it straight to the point, the kit zoom makes a good figure. Even at a full aperture, it resolves 45 line pairs per millimeter, Fade ensures that the resolution across the entire image field is uniform. Insetting and distortion hardly play a role only at the short end is an inconspicuous ton of just 1.5 percent to guess.

Only the aperture-increasing with increasing chromatic aberration spoils the otherwise good results a little, especially at the edges. There, the fringing reach about two pixels wide, which are critical viewers already disturbing. About F11 should not be grayed out, because from there put increasing diffraction effects of the physical resolution limits.

The influence of the sensor and image processing inside the camera quality characteristics is still enjoyable. Noise is hardly an issue up to high ISO values. The signal-to-noise ratio starts at a very high 45 dB at ISO 3,200 and only falls below the critical Olympus Pen E-P5 memory card slot and battery mark of 35 dB.

The texture sharpness to ISO 6400 is quite usable on a level, which can be obtained through a somewhat brash image processing. Sharpening artifacts, so exaggerated edges, but are practically very inconspicuous.

Likewise, neither grain nor brightness or color noise interferes excessively. The input dynamic range reached between ISO 200 and ISO 1600 about eleven stops (EV), and then only to fall from 6400 in ten EV.

The intent on a neutrality photographer should turn off the default ” Auto WB warm colors ” in the gear menu G, then the e-P5 provides very accurate and natural colors, even if they, like many other cameras also tend to be somewhat richer reds. The manual white balance is over the entire sensitivity range already very accurate.

Except for the ” low ” called ISO sensitivity, the Olympus Pen E-P5 produces crisp and sharp contrast JPGs that do not require further treatment, but not much can be recycled. Who wants to lend a hand himself, should draw on raw files.

Olympus Pen E-P5 – Conclusion

Retro design is not necessarily for everyone, but the Olympus E-P5 is worth a closer look. Retro means namely in this case simple, elegant and high quality, and the confident regardless of the taste. In addition, the top model of the Pen series has very interesting inner values. The speed when focusing, in the series Photography and the exposure time is of the highest standard, as is the picture quality.

If you would like more here should only use high-end lenses, for example FT lenses. Because this work not so slowly with the Olympus Pen E-P5 together. The whole is rounded off with features like live Bulb, interval recording, extensive bracketing functions and WiFi, just to name a few. The connection with a smartphone or tablet PC but could be implemented something complete and the proud price of course is a hurdle.

Product prices and availability are subject to change. Any price and availablility information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of any products.

88%

Awesome

Our Opinion

PROS : Excellent processing., Fast and accurate autofocus safer., Very effective image stabiliser., Very good image quality.
CONS : Touchscreen operation could be smoother and more complete., WiFi control somewhat limited., C-AF bit sluggish, Especially when shooting video.

• Design
• Features
• Image Quality
• Value of Money